On this day

February 14, 1945

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from February 14, 1945

Notable Births

Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein

1945Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein[†]

Hans-Adam II is the Prince of Liechtenstein, reigning since 1989. He is the son of Prince Franz Joseph II and his wife, Countess Georgina von Wilczek. He also bears the titles Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, and Count of Rietberg. Under his reign, a 2003 constitutional referendum expanded the powers of the Prince of Liechtenstein. In 2004, Hans-Adam transferred day-to-day governmental duties to his eldest son Hereditary Prince Alois as regent, as his father had done to him in 1984 to prepare him for the role of Prince.

1945Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (died 2013)[†]

Rodney Gregory Masterson, Jr., known as Rod Masterson, was an American film and television actor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Historical Events

Bombing of Dresden

1945World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.[†]

The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city. The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed more than 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of the city centre. Up to 25,000 people were killed. Three more USAAF air raids followed, two occurring on 2 March aimed at the city's railway marshalling yard and one smaller raid on 17 April aimed at industrial areas.

Bombing of Prague

1945World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by a United States Army Air Forces squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet Red Army's Vistula–Oder Offensive.[†]

Prague, the capital and largest city of the German-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, was bombed several times by the Allies during World War II. The first Allied aircraft to fly over Prague was a single bomber of the French Air Force in April 1940, but it dropped propaganda leaflets, not bombs. The first bombing mission was flown by the Royal Air Force (RAF) in October 1941. Prague was then bombed three times by the United States Army Air Forces between the fall of 1944 and spring of 1945. During the Prague uprising of 5–9 May 1945, the Luftwaffe made use of bombers against the rebels.

Mostar

1945World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans[†]

Mostar is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

1945President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.[†]

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served more than two terms. His first two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth saw him shift his focus to America's involvement in World War II.